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East Antrim Boat Club to Honour GP14 World Champions

27th October 2026
Mel Morris and Ger Owens racing at the 2026 GP14 World Championship on Belfast Lough
World Beaters – Mel Morris and Ger Owens racing at the 2026 GP14 World Championship on Belfast Lough, where they secured the world title in August Credit: Bradley Quinn

East Antrim Boat Club will celebrate Mel Morris and Ger Owens’ GP14 World Championship victory at its Champions Night in Larne on Saturday, 14 November.

The club has extended an invitation to members of the GP14 class to join the celebrations, which will also bring together GP14 greats from previous years.

Morris, of East Antrim, and Owens, of Wicklow Sailing Club, won the 2026 GP14 World Championship at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough in August.

The Irish pairing finished the eight-race series with 14 points after two discards, 11 clear of runners-up Sam Street and Josh Lloyd of Blessington Sailing Club, in a fleet of 90 boats.

In an extensive interview with Afloat following the victory, Owens reflected on his 27-year sailing partnership with Morris, his three Olympic campaigns and his return to Mirror dinghy sailing with his children. The world title, he said, was particularly special after so many years competing together.

East Antrim’s Champions Night celebration and prizegiving begins at 7.30pm, with light refreshments served.

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The GP14 is a popular sailing dinghy, with well over 14,000 boats built.

The class is active in the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and parts of north-eastern USA, and the GP14 can be used for both racing and cruising. 

Designed by Jack Holt in 1949, with the assistance of the Dovey Yacht Club in Aberdyfi. The idea behind the design was to build a General Purpose (GP) 14-foot dinghy which could be sailed or rowed, capable of also being powered effectively by a small outboard motor, able to be towed behind a small family car and able to be launched and recovered reasonably easily, and stable enough to be able to lie to moorings or anchor when required. Racing soon followed, initially with some degree of opposition from Yachting World, who had commissioned the design, and the boat soon turned out to be an outstanding racing design also.

The boat was initially designed with a main and small jib as a comfortable family dinghy. In a design philosophy that is both practical and highly redolent of social attitudes of the day the intention was that she should accommodate a family comprising parents plus two children, and specifically that the jib should be modest enough for "Mum" or older children to handle, while she should perform well enough to give "Dad" some excitement when not taking the family out. While this rig is still available, and can be useful when using the boat to teach sailing, or for family sailing, and has some popularity for cruising, the boat is more commonly seen with the full modern rig of a mainsail, genoa and spinnaker. Australian boats also routinely use trapezes.

GP14 Ireland Event Dates 2026

  • April 25–26 — O’Tiarnaigh Trophy, Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
  • May 9–10 — Munster Championship, Cullaun Sailing Club
  • June 6–7 — Ulster Championship, County Antrim Boat Club
  • June 11–14 — UK Nationals, Llandudno Sailing Club
  • July 4–5 — Leinster Championship, Howth Yacht Club
  • August 1–2 — Championship of Ireland, Carrickfergus Sailing Club
  • August 8–14 — GP14 World Championships
  • September 19–20 — Autumn Open / Youth Championship, Sligo Yacht Club
  • October 17–18 — Hot Toddy, Mullingar Sailing Club

 

At A Glance – GP14 Dinghy Specifications

Crew 2
Draft 1,200 mm (47 in)
Hull weight 132.9 kg
LOA 4.27 m (14 ft)
Beam 1.54 m
Spinnaker area 8.4 m2
Upwind sail area 12.85 m2

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